


Grumpy Cats and Strawberry Kisses

by jeweljem



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Oblivious Choi Beomgyu, Oblivious Choi Yeonjun, Pets, Pining, Sharing Clothes, Sweetheart Choi Beomgyu, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Whipped Choi Yeonjun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:40:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23485450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeweljem/pseuds/jeweljem
Summary: Choi Yeonjun was just trying to enjoy his college years. Yeonjun never thought that a rescued cat that tried to make his life as difficult as possible would end up helping him realise that he was in love with his best friend.or How Yeonjun tried to fight a cat and how the very same cat became his wingman.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Choi Yeonjun
Comments: 15
Kudos: 273





	Grumpy Cats and Strawberry Kisses

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is just a quick one shot! This one has been sitting in my drafts for a long time. I hope you all enjoy it <3

“Why do we have a cat?”

Yeonjun walked into his shared dorm with Beomgyu, only to find his roommate on the floor watching a cat with grey fur play with a ball of yarn. He dropped off his bag filled with his books and notes from lecture, as he watched Beomgyu scratch at the cat’s ears. It was unfair how effortlessly cute the younger looked, even just wearing an oversized hoodie- which was Yeonjun’s- and casual shorts. His chestnut brown hair was ruffled and his eyes were brightly shining from observing the said unknown cat. 

Yeonjun sat down by the pair and poked Beomgyu on the shoulder to get his attention. “We didn’t have a cat before I left.”

The younger photography student simply looked up at him through his eyelashes and gave him a far too innocent smile, exclaiming “Surprise! I got him for your birthday.” Picking up the cat, Beomgyu walked up nonchalantly, trying to physically move away from Yeonjun to avoid further questioning. 

“Beomgyu you know my birthday is in September. It's April.” Yeonjun fought a grin from slipping into his lips. It was adorable how bad Beomgyu was at lying. 

With the cat at his arms, Beomgyu’s steps faltered and he turned around with a sheepish smile “My bad, I got him for my birthday.” 

“Beomgyu, your birthday was last month.” 

The younger shuffled his feet in defeat and approached him with the cat in his arms, his gaze loving and filled with affection. He raised the cat to Yeonjun’s eye level and a brief image of baby Simba from The Lion King crossed Yeonjun’s mind. The cat blinked at him.

Beomgyu gave Yeonjun a wide eyed stare, pouting as he said “I found him in an abandoned box near the apartment building and he’s so cute hyung please can we keep him?”

Fuck. Gathering every ounce of resolve he had in his body, Yeonjun avoided looking at Beomgyu’s deadly adorable face and sighed “You know it's against the building’s regulations for us to keep a pet.” 

“Please hyung,” Beomgyu’s voice trembled and the younger’s eyes watered. Shit. He was fucked. 

He was going to regret this. He knew he was. But, how could he refuse? Not when Beomgyu and the cat had mirrored pure pleading expressions of innocence.

“Fine.” 

Beomgyu gave a loud cheer and spun around clutching the little kitten to his chest. A large grin graced the younger’s face and Yeonjun thought that the decision was worth it, if it made Beomgyu smile- a smile brimming with elation and contentment. 

Yeonjun made his way to their kitchen to grab a glass of water and asked “Beomgyu what’s the cat’s name?” 

For some reason, the question made Beomgyu’s cheeks reddened as he avoided Yeonjun’s eyes. “His name is Pingu.”

Pingu. Huh. 

“That’s a cute name,” was all Yeonjun said before going back to his room to organise his lecture notes. 

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\

Keeping Pingu around, as it turns out, was a terrible mistake. Not because the cat was terrible, oh no the cat was adorable with its little hind legs trying to run to catch up to Beomgyu, to the way he softly purred when Beomgyu pets him and his habit of fluffing his tail made Yeonjun’s heart melt a little. Pingu was the epitome of cuteness- when Beomgyu was around. 

Any other time that Yeonjun and Pingu were left alone together, the cat was a menace, from biting Yeonjun’s fingers when he tried to pet the cat, to scratching his favourite clothes and straight up running away from him when he approached him. There was even an instance where Pingu somehow ended up on the bathroom counter and pushed Yeonjun’s toothbrush in the trash can, looking into Yeonjun’s soul from the hallway as he committed the crime. But Beomgyu remained oblivious to Yeonjun’s suffering, thinking that Pingu was the best thing since sliced bread. And Yeonjun can’t even fault the younger, as Pingu was completely different when Beomgyu’s in the room. 

It was a common occurrence that Pingu interrupted every aspect of their life now. From their shared study sessions in the living room being interrupted by Pingu’s loud purring to always cleaning up after Pingu bumps into literally everything in his way and of course adding cat food to their weekly groceries. Yeonjun had to purchase lint rollers after Pingu by some means made it into his closet and made himself a comfortable bed from Yeonjun’s sweaters. There was only one person that could borrow his precious clothes and it was certainly not Pingu. Needless to say, Yeonjun’s accessory for a week was an endless smattering of cat hair. Beomgyu’s phone was now filled with countless photos of Pingu instead of _him_ and he won’t even address how Pingu only chews on _his_ chargers, or _his_ slippers or _his_ towels- make that into everything he owned. It was as if the cat knew which buttons to push to annoy Yeonjun to a maximum level. 

That wasn’t even the worst of it. Yeonjun hated how all of Beomgyu’s attention was on Pingu. It was an established routine that Fridays were dedicated to buying delivery food and watching movies. But this time it was crashed by the cat’s presence on Beomgyu’s lap, which was always where Yeonjun laid his head after they’ve eaten way too much fried chicken. It wasn’t like Yeonjun was going to ask Beomgyu to remove Pingu from his lap, no he wasn’t a monster. So he shut his mouth and secretly fumed. 

Though, he can’t be too mad at Pingu, because they both fell asleep earlier than they planned to and ended up cuddling on the couch. Regardless of the back pain from cramming two taller than average boys in a sofa that was not designed for their length, it was one of the best mornings Yeonjun had in a while. The first thing he saw the moment he opened his eyes was Beomgyu's head laid on his chest. Yeonjun took his time to appreciate the younger’s long sweeping eyelashes, to his perfect nose and the relaxed and open expression Beomgyu had when he slept. Their legs were tangled with each other and Yeonjun was pretty sure the blood circulation on his right foot was cut off but he didn’t care. He hardly had any time with Beomgyu recently just because of that damned menace. Contentment filled him to his core, and for once he could say that he felt- happy. 

Ranting all of his frustrations to Soobin, Taehyun and Huening Kai the very next day was a huge mistake. Whilst they waited for Beomgyu at their usual table at the campus cafe, venting his annoyances only earned him a round of laughter. 

Hyuka clutched his sides from giggling too much and said “Yeonjun-hyung I can’t believe you’re fighting with a cat.” 

“I’m not fighting with the cat. No, Beomgyu would kill me.” Yeonjun pouted. 

Soobin replied with a teasing smirk “No you wouldn’t touch the cat even if it killed you.” 

Taehyun grinned knowingly from his coffee cup and nonchalantly dropped, “Sounds to me like you're jealous of Pingu.” 

Yeonjun sputtered “Me?! Jealous of a cat?!” Another round of laughter ensued and Yeonjun groaned. His friends were absolutely useless, he didn’t even know why he expected them to help him. Besides, why would he be jealous of Pingu? It didn’t make any sense. He pushed his straw around his bubble tea, as he stared at the strawberry cheesecake he ordered earlier for Pingu’s owner. There was nothing to be jealous of. 

They all collectively shut up when Beomgyu walked through the door with his camera bag swinging behind him. Yeonjun jumped up to his feet and hurried to meet the younger and help him carry his things, and ask him what drink he wanted. Beomgyu looked exhausted after his photoshoot but he still gave Yeonjun a heart stopping smile. 

He thought he heard Soobin say “whipped” but he ignored it, far too distracted by Beomgyu’s presence to pay attention to anything else. 

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\

For some reason, Yeonjun couldn’t get Taehyun’s words out of his mind.

_Jealous._

Is that what he was feeling? It was a Sunday morning and he sipped his freshly brewed tea as he looked at Beomgyu playing with Pingu. The cat had grown significantly since Beomgyu took him home, but he still looked absolutely tiny in Beomgyu’s arms. It seemed like Pingu’s feelings for Yeonjun warmed considerably the past few weeks. They seem to have gained a sense of mutual understanding that they have to share Beomgyu’s time and attention. Pingu left Yeonjun and Beomgyu alone when they had to study and Yeonjun begrudgingly gave up his spot on Beomgyu’s laps during movie nights. Pingu stopped chewing on his cables too, which was a definite plus. 

He didn’t understand why Taehyun’s words unsettled him, like he was given pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and he only had one piece missing to complete the picture. He sighed and downed the rest of his tea before taking out ingredients to make pancakes for brunch. Yeonjun cooked for Beomgyu frequently, not just because he enjoyed receiving compliments from Beomgyu for his slightly above average cooking. It was also because Beomgyu had a terrible sense of self-preservation; sometimes Beomgyu missed one or two meals per day and Yeonjun was not pleased when he found out. Beomgyu was far too light.

Cooking, at least was something familiar, something easy, something that he’s used to, something that he doesn’t have to think too much about. He mixed the pancake batter quickly and soon the scent of cooking pancakes permeated around the room, the sweet aroma making him more hungry than he already was. He looked up to see Beomgyu making cooing sounds at Pingu before Beomgyu picked up the cat to give him kisses. The light that streamed through the window panes illuminated Beomgyu’s face, making his hair shine like there was an invisible halo floating above his head. His frame drowned in Yeonjun’s hoodie, his smile was easy, comfortable- full of affection. 

_I wish you’d kiss me instead._

_Wait? What?_

Beomgyu kissed Pingu’s head, and the horrible realisation that doused him with the truth chained his heart and dropped it to his knees. He wished it was _him_ that Beomgyu kissed. It should be him in his arms, it should be him causing that pretty smile. The anchor sunk lower when he realised he was _jealous of a cat._ A goddamn cat. Because he was in love with his best friend. 

The puzzle was complete, with the last missing piece slotted neatly into place. The emotion Yeonjun couldn’t place a name on suddenly made far more sense once he figured it out. Love. That was it. Watching Beomgyu cuddle the menace that was Pingu the cat, made his heart skip to the beats of the never ending song of love. It danced to the tune created by Beomgyu’s smile, the melodies creating themselves with Gyu’s laugh and the staccato beats thrummed along his veins. 

_Oh Jesus he was so whipped._

It was a bit stupid, realising you love your best friend when you’re in the middle of your shared kitchen preparing breakfast for the love of your life whilst he played with his cat. It struck him dumb, how domestic it all was- how he never wanted to let this go for the future. He wanted a future where he can wake up in the morning and make breakfast or lunch or dinner for Beomgyu. Even the menace cat can stay in the picture, because this- this feels like a family. 

With a stuttering heart, Yeonjun focused on whisking the remaining pancake batter, a little too vigorously than needed perhaps, trying to focus his attention on food, not the subject of his affections. 

_He was doomed._

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\

There was pining, there was longing and then there was straight up stupidity. Soobin groaned into his arms as Yeonjun finished recounting his epiphany that caused him to leave his cosy apartment on a Tuesday or all days to go out drinking- even if it meant giving Beomgyu a half-assed excuse and high tailing it out of their apartment before the younger could ask any questions. He ignored Pingu’s piercing stare as he put his shoes on and practically ran out of their apartment building. He just didn’t know if he could survive being in such a small space with Beomgyu any longer. It was ridiculous, how this realisation made him hyper aware of Beomgyu’s presence, which made him twitchy- his nerves all wound up in a tight ball coiled within him. He was too scared of fucking up, which resulted in him avoiding the younger at all costs. What if they fall asleep on the couch again? How would he survive cuddling with his crush? Crush doesn’t even encompass the amount of love and affection he feels for Beomgyu. So like the coward he was, his brain thought running away was the best option. He needed to leave the house.

“You couldn’t have waited two more weeks,” Soobin muttered in defeat, taking a sip of his soju, as they sat outside a table at a convenience store not too far away from campus.

“What the fuck do you mean?” Yeonjun questioned.

“Taehyun, Kai and I have an ongoing bet of when you’d realise you were in love with Beomgyu. Thanks a lot, I just lost a lot of money.”

Yeonjun should be offended, he really should, but it sounded like it was something he would do too so instead he took a sip of his own soju, enjoying the small satisfaction from knowing that Soobin is at least sharing a part of his misery with him. 

It should be easy, it really should- to come home to see Beomgyu editing his pictures in his laptop in the living room with Pingu snoozing right next to him. But it's not, because his heart was jammed at his enclosed throat and he was unable to speak because Beomgyu was _too damn precious to be real._ From the furrowed brows of concentration, to the vigorous typing and mouse clicks, to the cute bear hair band that got his hair out of his face, all of it made Yeonjun’s heart hurt because he wants to kiss that frown away, calm his furious typing and play with that pretty hair of his. He was going to combust from keeping it all inside. He almost wished he remained clueless to his own feelings. Almost. 

Soobin sipped his coke instead and asked the million dollar question, “Why don’t you just tell him you love him?”

Yeonjun gaped at Soobin. “Tell-tell him?! Why would I want to ruin our friendship?!”

“You’re being stupid,” Soobin said and flicked Yeonjun’s forehead. “Of course you wouldn’t ruin your friendship, even a blind person would know that Beomgyu loves you back you microwave tuna fish eater.”

Ignoring the insult, Yeonjun took a sip of water because alcohol was disgusting. Why did he do this on a school night again? Because he was head over heels in love that's why. He was quiet as he pondered over Soobin’s words. There was no way Beomgyu loved him back. If he did, why didn’t Yeonjun notice it? Then again he was oblivious to his own feelings until a few days ago. Still, he wasn’t willing to risk anything- not when it concerns Beomgyu.

So Yeonjun and Soobin threw away their bottles of alcohol and entered the shop to buy banana milk instead, with Yeonjun hesitating to buy a pack of strawberry milk cartons because he knew Beomgyu ran out of the drink recently. Soobin rolled his eyes as he stopped at the drinks section of the shop, boring holes in the milk, as if they’ll give him the answers he has been craving for. 

He didn’t know how long he stood there, but he grabbed as much strawberry milk as he could carry, paid and left to go back to Beomgyu.

He was going home. 

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\

It was a little over 1 am when he got back to the apartment. Yeonjun expected Beomgyu to be sleeping because it was too late on a school night for him to be up. Yeonjun tiptoed towards their kitchen when he saw Beomgyu’s sleeping figure on their sofa with Pingu snoozing at their coffee table. Fuck, Beomgyu looked cute, even if he was just sleeping. 

Yeonjun quickly put away all of Beomgyu’s strawberry milk in the fridge before he gingerly slid his left hand beneath Gyu’s knees and ensured that his right hand supported the younger’s back. He lifted him up easily- not surprised in the slightest that Beomgyu was lighter than a feather- and he placed the younger’s head more comfortably on his shoulder. 

Yeonjun tentatively walked towards Beomgyu’s bedroom along the corridor, careful of jostling him too much, in case he wakes up. He lowered Beomgyu down his bed and was in the process of pulling his blanket over the younger when a voice broke the silence. 

“Junnie-hyung?” Beomgyu asked, his voice scratchy and rough from his sleep. 

Yeonjun froze, his heart fluttering from the nickname and patted the younger’s head and whispered, “Don’t worry Gyu, it's just hyungie.”

A soft hand reached out to grab Yeonjun’s arm and Beomgyu murmured in the darkness, “Can you stay hyungie?

And how can Yeonjun say no to that? He couldn’t. So he climbed onto the bed and pulled the blanket over both of their bodies and immediately embraced Beomgyu. He didn’t realise how much he missed the younger, with his panic over his feelings and his conundrum of how he was going to hide it from Beomgyu, he unknowingly pulled away from the very person that he needed. Beomgyu snuggled closer to Yeonjun and his scent of sweet strawberries reminded Yeonjun so much of what he longed for that he made a promise. He tried to calm his erratic heart. No matter how much he was going to have to repress his feelings, he was going to make sure that it would not affect Beomgyu.

So he kissed Beomgyu’s forehead, just like how he used to and allowed sleep to consume him. 

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\

It was a rare day where Yeonjun was alone at home with Pingu. The menace was actually nice to him now, and he didn’t know how he used to do all his essays without taking healing breaks of playing with Pingu. His lectures opposed Beomgyu; his classes were usually in the evenings, whilst the other was unfortunate enough to have to wake up at ungodly hours. However, Yeonjun’s evening classes were cancelled by his professor and Beomgyu had a photography shoot that won’t finish up till dinner time. 

It was 2 months after Yeonjun’s epiphany and everyday was not getting any easier. His heart still stumbled over the overwhelming feeling of _love_ and he often choked on his words when he was around Beomgyu- he never quite knew what to say when the younger looked at him with his full attention. All the little smiles, the little touches, the cuddles, the forehead kisses- it all used to be normal. Now, he felt like he was dying and living at the same time- his heart jammed with far too much affection for one person. 

Yeonju lifted Pingu up and placed him on the coffee table on top of all of his notes. Pingu licked his paws and gave Yeonjun a dirty stare, as if Yeonjun’s entire existence offended him. 

“Hey don’t look at me like that,” Yeonjun poked Pingu’s belly. The cat simply rolled on his back, depositing all of his fur on Yeonjun’s notes. To be fair, it was Yeonjun’s fault this time but he knew it was going to be a pain to remove all of the grey cat fur from his notes. 

Scratching Pingu’s ears, Yeonjun said “I can’t believe I used to get jealous of you. You were an annoyance to me. How can you take all of Beommie’s attention? But then I realised that you were just a cat with an attitude and Beomgyu still liked me more.”

Pingu pinned Yeonjun with another stare and meowed at Yeonjun mockingly as if he was saying “Are you sure about that?” 

Yeonjun pouted “Okay maybe Beomgyu still gives you more kisses and cuddles but he still likes me more.”

The menace turned his attention back to his paws, as if Yeonjun was no longer worth his attention and energy. Yeonjun just laughed and rubbed Pingu’s belly, and the cat purred in satisfaction. 

“What do I do about Beomgyu? I love him so much that it hurts sometimes.” Yeonjun smiled softly at Pingu “I can’t risk ruining our friendship. I’d rather die-”

A loud thud interrupted his words and Yeonjun turned towards their front door to see a shocked Beomgyu with his various camera equipment scattered on the floor. 

Scrambling to his feet, Yeonjun tried to suppress his pounding heart and stuttered as he asked “Beom- Beomgyu why are you home early? I thought your shoot will end late today.”

Beomgyu stepped towards him, his face blank of any emotion and his steps were deliberate. 

_This was it. This was the end. You’ve fucked up Choi Yeonjun._

“I- Were you serious about what you said?” Beomgyu asked as he stood right in front of Yeonjun, the younger’s gaze seeing right through him. 

Yeonjun could lie. He could play it off as a joke, he could say something- anything and lie to Beomgyu. But he was tired. Tired of hiding his love for him. Tired of being a coward. It was fruitless- not when Beomgyu stared at him like that- so open, so vulnerable. He swallowed his heart and whispered, “Yes, yes all of it was true.”

Beomgyu surged forward hugging Yeonjun. The suddenness of the movement caused both of them to topple backwards, with Yeonjun hands flying to Beomgyu’s waist to maneuver them just in time to land on the couch. Their bodies were pressed close to each other- impossibly close and Beomgyu’s soft hands held Yeonjun’s face gently- like he was going to break- like he was going to crumble beneath him. 

“I want you to say it.”

Yeonjun drank in everything: Beomgyu’s eyelashes, his caramel brown eyes, to his nose and of course his lips.

“I love you.”

Beomgyu leaned in to close the remaining distance between them and sealed their lips together. Smooth lips moved along Yeonjun gently and he closed his eyes, their noses bumping once or twice in a way that should be awkward but it wasn’t. Beomgyu tasted sweet and syrupy, like ripe sun-kissed strawberries on a summer afternoon. Yeonjun pulled Beomgyu’s waist tighter and the younger made a small keening sound. Sparks ignited along his spine and their kiss relaxed into a slower rhythm and they pulled away, breathless and panting. Pingu climbed onto the couch and placed his paws right above Yeonjun’s head, meowing loudly- he probably wanted more attention. 

Beomgyu giggled and waved Pingu aside kindly and sprinkled Yeonjun’s face with more kisses. Yeonjun flipped them over the small couch, with Beomgyu giving a small yelp of surprise. Now he was on top, Yeonjun kissed him again- this time more deeply. He felt Beomgyu shudder beneath him and Yeonjun smirked. 

_Told you Beomgyu likes me more Pingu._

They stayed there for a very long time. 

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\

“Baby?” Yeonjun asked as he cuddled his _boyfriend_ on the couch. It was time for their Friday night and it was Beomgyu’s turn to pick the movie, so _August Rush_ was playing on the TV. Pingu was there too, sleeping on the carpet, as there was no more space for him on the couch- he wasn’t a kitty anymore- a fact that made him very grumpy. 

“Yes hyung?”

Yeonjun played with Beomgyu’s pretty hair and asked “Why did you name the cat Pingu?”

Surprisingly, Beomgyu froze and hid his head in Yeonjun’s neck and murmured something about it being too embarrassing. Yeonjun poked Beomgyu, knowing that the younger was ticklish- something he often used to his advantage. He was a Slytherin after all. 

Kissing Beomgyu’s cheeks, Yeonjun said “Tell meeeeee.”

“Ugghh fine,” Beomgyu turned to face Yeonjun and mumbled “I named him Pingu because that was my secret nickname for you.”

_“What?”_

Beomgyu simply kissed him at the sensitive spot on his neck to try and distract him.

“Choi Beomgyu!”

The love of his life snickered and Yeonjun felt himself melt a little on the inside. 

He was home. 

/ᐠ｡ꞈ｡ᐟ\

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please leave a kudos or a comment if you liked it <3 If you want I can maybe write a second part- maybe more of Pingu being the little grumpy cat. And yes I named the cat Pingu because Yeonjun `3`
> 
> Scream at me on [twt](https://mobile.twitter.com/eyes_on_gyu) if you want. 
> 
> Have a good day and stay safe everyone!


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